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Robot Wars Soundtrack
Music was used extensively throughout Robot Wars. In addition to opening and closing themes, music was played in the background during battles, when robots were being introduced, when 'battleboards' (showing which robots were fighting each other next) were being shown, and in various other places. The music remained much the same for the first four series, with new music being produced when the series was revamped for ''The Fifth Wars'' and ''Extreme''. This new soundtrack remained until the end of the original series. Many of the tracks were also used in merchandise and international versions of the show, with Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors and Nickelodeon Robot Wars being the only international series to have music specially produced. All music for the original series was composed by John Waddell and Will Parnell. An entirely new set of music was used for the rebooted series, including remixes of the original opening and closing theme composed by Lawrence Oakley, as well as tracks from various other artists and composers. A noticeable difference between the original and rebooted series was the absence of battle music prior to its reintroduction in Robot Wars: World Series; in Series 8-10 and Battle of the Stars, only the ambient sounds of the arena and Jonathan Pearce's commentary could be heard during fights. The four tables below list all music tracks created for every version of the series, noting which ones were used in the series themselves, as well as those used primarily in tie-in merchandise such as video games and video/DVD releases. The names of many of the tracks are unknown, with fans uploading the soundtracks from the games to YouTube creating their own names. All of the PC and large console games simply numbered the tracks, bar ''Arenas of Destruction'' for PC, which did provide names, these names being quoted in the table. It is unknown whether these are the actual names. The original Robot Wars website included various downloads, including some music. Series 1-4 All music in the first four series is techno in style, with almost all tracks sharing similar elements, such as the same musical key, tempo, bassline, drum tracks and sound effects. The music makes use of various sound effect samples, such as hammer blows and metal being struck, the sound of pneumatic pistons and gas escaping, and "robotic voices" amongst other things. The arena battle music would be used without variation for all battles until The Fifth Wars and Extreme, whereas the other tracks would often change use or be retired. Series 5-7 For The Fifth Wars and Extreme, along with a revamped arena, titles and graphics, new music was introduced, with only the opening and closing themes remaining from the previous soundtrack. Music was this time rock and heavy metal in style, to tie in with the new more aggressive ‘wrestling style presentation’ of the show. Indeed tracks “Generation Wars” and “Metallic” (see table) sound particularly influenced by the heavy metal band Metallica. The tracks no longer shared similar elements, being more individual, and there were also now five different battle music tracks used in sequence rather than just one. Series 8-10 For Series 8-10, a entirely new music suite was used, coinciding with the introduction of a new logo, opening sequence and on-screen graphics. Unlike in previous series, a wide variety of genres were used, with rock, electronic, orchestral, classical and ambient tracks being especially prevalent. Music in these series was primarily used for host introductions, post-battle replays, battleboards, statistics boards (Battle of the Stars onwards) and segments focusing on the competitors. For the World Series, battle music were reintroduced, this time of varying genres and styles, having been absent entirely from Series 8-10 and Battle of the Stars. Other A number of tracks produced for the show were never used in the UK Series, but some were heard in international versions, Robot Wars video/DVD releases or video games. Robot Wars Video Games PC and large console games Arenas of Destruction and Extreme Destruction featured a selection of music directly from the series, alternated with ten specially produced tracks by Matt Lightwood. The soundtrack of each version varies somewhat, the most noticeable difference being the music used in the Robot Wars Arena in Arenas of Destruction. The PC version correctly uses the battle music used on the four series of the show, whereas the PlayStation 2 version strangely uses the Series 3-5 Closing Theme instead. Extreme Destruction contains significantly more tracks than its predecessor, with a number of them never utilised in the game or even in the series itself (see above tables). Many of the specially produced tracks used in Arenas of Destruction are included but not utilised in Extreme Destruction. Due to the limited hardware available on the handheld platforms, the Game Boy games were unable to use the soundtrack from the TV show and instead had new compositions, some based on its television counterpart. Music in Advanced Destruction does contain some short samples of some original tracks however. The soundtrack in the very first Robot Wars game, ''Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem'' for the Game Boy Color, was quite limited. There were only five tracks, all somewhat inspired by the TV soundtrack of the time. The music and sound effects in the game are credited to Mark Dritz. Compared to Metal Mayhem the soundtrack in ''Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction'' was much improved, benefiting from the more capable hardware on the then-new Game Boy Advance. Again all music is inspired by the television soundtrack. Each of the four arenas included had their own unique theme, as did the Robot Workshop. This track and the Robot Factory music both use samples from the Series 1-2 Gauntlet Music. There are eleven tracks in total, two of which are not utilised in the game. The music in this game is credited to Rocket Music. Music in Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction ''for the Game Boy Advance is less inspired by that of the television series, instead being more unique and elaborate sounding than its predecessors. As with Advanced Destruction each arena has its own theme music in addition to the main menu theme. Unlike the last game the Robot Workshop does not have its own music track, with the main menu music continuing instead. There are ten tracks in total. The music and sound effects are credited to Semi Precious. Other Uses Since acquiring the rights to the Robot Wars brand, Roaming Robots have used some original music from the series in their Robot Wars live events, along with other non original music. Unlike the British series, an instrumental version of the Robot Wars single Android Love (see below) has also been used. There have also been some strange instances of Robot Wars music being used in other situations, such as “Ant” (see table) in this trailer for Power Rangers Samurai. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYUE9XVXuTY&t=58s "Burn Baby" has also been used in some episodes of the motoring programme ''Top Gear. The distorted sound effect played while the battle countdown is announced, which also features in many of the music tracks, was used in the theme tune and between scene changes in the sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Robot Wars Single In late 2000 a Robot Wars single and music video was released, with the backing track being based on the television soundtrack of the time, with added elements. References Category:Behind the Scenes Category:Music